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J.K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Murray, OBECaine heads birthday honours list. BBC News. 17 June 2000. Accessed 25 October 2000. JK Rowling Biography. Scholastic.com. Accessed 20 October 2007. better known under the pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author best known as the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, the idea for which was conceived whilst on a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies, and been the basis for a popular series of films. Aside from writing the Potter novels, Rowling is perhaps equally famous for her "rags to riches" life story, in which she progressed from living on welfare to multi-millionaire status within five years. The 2008 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £560 million ($798 million), ranking her as the twelfth richest woman in Britain.Sunday Times Rich List – Joanne Rowling; Women's Rich List – Joanne Rowling. The Sunday Times. 27 April 2008. Accessed 20 May 2008. Forbes ranked Rowling as the forty-eighth most powerful celebrity of 2007,#48 J.K. Rowling. Forbes Magazine. 14 June 2007. Accessed 20 October 2007. and ''Time'' magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fandom.Person of the Year 2007 Runners-Up: J.K. Rowling. Time Magazine. 23 December 2007. Accessed 23 December 2007. She has become a notable philanthropist, supporting such charities as Comic Relief, One Parent Families, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain, and the Children's High Level Group. Name Although she writes under the pen name "J. K. Rowling", pronounced like "rolling","The Not Especially Fascinating Life So Far of J. K. Rowling" J. K. Rowling. From accio-quote.org. Accessed 28 April 2008 her name when her first Harry Potter book was published was simply "Joanne Rowling". Her publisher Bloomsbury feared that the target audience of young boys might be reluctant to buy books written by a female author, and requested that she use two initials, rather than reveal her first name. As she had no middle name, she chose K'' as the second initial of her pseudonym, from her paternal grandmother Kathleen; it has never been part of her legal name. Following her marriage, her legal name is ''Joanne Murray, which she uses when conducting her personal business.Judge rules against JK Rowling in privacy case. Guardian Unlimited. 7 August 2007. Accessed 21 August 2007."There would be so much to tell her..." Tatler Magazine. 10 January 2006. Accessed 25 April 2008. She calls herself "Jo" and said, "No one ever called me 'Joanne' when I was young, unless they were angry."Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "J.K. Rowling: CBC Interview #1". The Hogwarts Express. 26 October 2000. Accessed 19 March 2006. Background Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling and Anne Rowling (née Volant), on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, northeast of Bristol."J. K. Rowling's biography". J.K. Rowling's Official Site. Accessed 17 March 2006. Her sister Dianne (Di) was born at their home on 28 June 1967HPL: Muggle Encyclopedia — R Accessed 11 April 2008. when Rowling was 23 months old. The family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four. She attended St Michael's Primary School,Winterbourne Family History Online, St Michael’s School Admission Register 1966–1970 – Rowling listed as admission No.305. Accessed 14 August 2006. a school founded almost 200 years ago by famed abolitionist William WilberforceBowyer, Jerry. Harry Potter is gateway drug to the good stuff. Fox News. 22 August 2007. Accessed 1 September 2007. and education reformer Hannah More. Her elderly headmaster at St Michael's, Alfred Dunn, was claimed as the inspiration for the Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore.Albus Dumbledore. winterbourne.freeuk.com. Accessed 1 September 2007.Archaeology. South Glos University Accessed 1 September 2007. As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories, which she would usually then read to her sister. She recalls that "I can still remember me telling her a story in which she fell down a rabbit hole and was fed strawberries by the rabbit family inside it. Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee." At the age of nine, Rowling moved to the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales. When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, who Rowling said "taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind", gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels.''Rowling, JK. The first It Girl. ''The Daily Telegraph. 26 November 2006. Accessed 20 October 2007. Mitford became Rowling's heroine, and Rowling subsequently read all of her books.Fraser, Lindsey. Harry and me. The Scotsman. 2 November 2002: interview with Rowling, edited excerpt from Conversations with J.K. Rowling. Mirror site She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College. Rowling has said of her adolescence, "Hermione is loosely based on me. She's a caricature of me when I was eleven, which I'm not particularly proud of."Feldman, Roxanne. The Truth about Harry, School Library Journal, September 1999. Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired the one in her books. "Ron Weasley isn't a living portrait of Sean, but he really is very Sean-ish."Fraser, Lindsey. Conversations with J.K. Rowling, pg 19–20, Scholastic. Of her musical tastes of the time, she said "My favourite group in the world is The Smiths. And when I was going through a punky phase, it was The Clash."Fraser, Lindsey. Conversations with J.K. Rowling, pg 29 Scholastic. Rowling read for a BA in French and Classics at the University of Exeter, which she says was a "bit of a shock" as she "was expecting to be amongst lots of similar people– thinking radical thoughts." Once she made friends with "some like-minded people" she says she began to enjoy herself.Fraser, Lindsey. Conversations with J.K. Rowling, pg 34 Scholastic. With a year of study in Paris, Rowling moved to London to work as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International.Norman-Culp, Sheila. British author rides up the charts on a wizard's tale. Associated Press. 1998. Accessed 6 December 2007. In 1990, while she was on a four-hour-delayed train trip from Manchester to London, the idea for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry "came fully formed" into her mind. She told The Boston Globe that "I really don't know where the idea came from. It started with Harry, then all these characters and situations came flooding into my head."Loer, Stephanie. All about Harry Potter from quidditch to the future of the Sorting Hat. The Boston Globe. 18 October 1999. Accessed 10 October 2007. When she had reached her Clapham Junction flat, she began to write immediately."Harry Potter and Me". BBC Christmas Special. 13 November 2002. Accessed 25 February 2007. However, in December of that year, Rowling’s mother died, after her ten-year battle with multiple sclerosis. Rowling commented, "I was writing Harry Potter at the moment my mother died. I had never told her about Harry Potter."Greig, Geordie. "There would be so much to tell her...". Tatler. 10 January 2006. Accessed 10 January 2006. Shortened version published in The Daily Telegraph. Rowling said this death heavily affected her writingJ.K. Rowling's Official Site, "MS Society Scotland". Accessed 22 March 2006. and that she introduced much more detail about Harry's loss in the first book, because she knew about how it felt.Transcript of Richard and Judy. Richard & Judy, Channel Four Corporation (UK). 26 June 2006. Accessed 4 July 2006. Rowling then moved to Porto, Portugal to teach English as a foreign language. While there, on 16 October 1992, she married Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes. Their one child, Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes (named after Jessica Mitford), was born on 27 July 1993 in Portugal. They separated in November 1993.Weeks, Linton. "Charmed, I'm Sure". The Washington Post. 20 October 1999. Accessed 21 March 2006. In December 1993, Rowling and her daughter moved to be near her sister in Edinburgh, Scotland. During this period Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression, and contemplated suicide."Harry Potter author: I considered suicide". CNN. 23 March 2008. Accessed 23 March 2008. It was the feeling of her illness which brought her the idea of Dementors, soulless creatures featured in Harry Potter.Harry Potter's magician. BBC News. 18 February 2003. Accessed 30 December 2007. After Jessica's birth and the separation from her husband, Rowling had left her teaching job in Portugal. In order to teach in Scotland she would need a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE), requiring a full-time, year-long course of study. She began this course in August 1995,Sean Smith, "J.K. Rowling, A Biography," pp. 128–129 after completing her first novel while having survived on welfare.Melissa Anelli, "Harry, A History," pp. 43–44 She wrote in many cafés, especially Nicolson's Café,"From the dole to Hollywood" whenever she could get Jessica to fall asleep."Harry Potter and Me". BBC Christmas Special. 28 December 2001. Transcribed by "Marvelous Marvolo" and Jimmi Thøgersen. Quick Quotes Quill.org. Accessed 17 March 2006. In a 2001 BBC interview, Rowling denied the rumour that she wrote in local cafés to escape from her unheated flat, remarking, "I am not stupid enough to rent an unheated flat in Edinburgh in midwinter. It had heating." Instead, as she stated on the American TV program A&E Biography, one of the reasons she wrote in cafés was because taking her baby out for a walk was the best way to make her fall asleep. ''Harry Potter'' ''Harry Potter'' books In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on an old manual typewriter.Riccio, Heather. Interview with JK Rowling, Author of Harry Potter. Hilary Magazine. Accessed 26 October 2007. Upon the enthusiastic response of Bryony Evans, a reader who had been asked to review the book’s first three chapters, the Fulham-based Christopher Little Literary Agents agreed to represent Rowling in her quest for a publisher. The book was submitted to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected the manuscript.McGinty, Stephen. The JK Rowling Story. The Scotsman. 16 June 2003. Accessed 27 May 2009. A year later she was finally given the green light (and a £1500 advance) by editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, a small British publishing house in London, England."Meet the Writers: J. K. Rowling". Barnes and Noble. Accessed 25 March 2006. The decision to publish Rowling's book apparently owes much to Alice Newton, the eight-year-old daughter of Bloomsbury’s chairman, who was given the first chapter to review by her father and immediately demanded the next.Lawless, John. Revealed: The eight-year-old girl who saved Harry Potter. New Zealand Herald. 3 July 2005. Accessed 20 October 2007. Although Bloomsbury agreed to publish the book, Cunningham says that he advised Rowling to get a day job, since she had little chance of making money in children’s books.Blais, Jacqueline. "Harry Potter has been very good to JK Rowling. USA Today 9 July 2005. Accessed 26 May 2009. Soon after, in 1997, Rowling received an £8000 grant from the Scottish Arts Council to enable her to continue writing.Scottish Arts Council Wants Payback. hpna.com. 30 November 2003. Accessed 9 April 2006. The following spring, an auction was held in the United States for the rights to publish the novel, and was won by Scholastic Inc., for $105,000. Rowling has said she “nearly died” when she heard the news.Reynolds, Nigel. "$100,000 Success Story for Penniless Mother.". The Daily Telegraph. 7 July 1997. Accessed 25 October 2007. In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher’s Stone with an initial print-run of 1000 copies, five hundred of which were distributed to libraries. Today, such copies are valued between £16,000 and £25,000.Kleffel, Rick. Rare Harry Potter books. metroactive.com. 22 July 2005. Accessed 9 April 2006. Five months later, the book won its first award, a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. In February, the novel won the prestigious British Book Award for Children’s Book of the Year, and later, the Children’s Book Award. Its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July, 1998. In October 1998, Scholastic published Philosopher’s Stone in the US under the title of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: a change Rowling claims she now regrets and would have fought if she had been in a better position at the time."Red Nose Day" Online Chat Transcript, BBC Online, 12 March 2001, The Burrow. Accessed 16 April 2008. In December 1999, the third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, won the Smarties Prize, making Rowling the first person to win the award three times running.Potter's award hat-trick. BBC News. 1 December 1999. Accessed 25 October 2007. She later withdrew the fourth Harry Potter novel from contention to allow other books a fair chance. In January 2000, Prisoner of Azkaban won the inaugural Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year award, though it lost the Book of the Year prize to Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf.Gibbons, Fiachra. "Beowulf slays the wizard". Guardian Unlimited. 26 January 2000. Accessed 19 March 2006. The fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released simultaneously in the UK and the US on 8 July 2000, and broke sales records in both countries. Some 372,775 copies of the book were sold in its first day in the UK, almost equalling the number Prisoner of Azkaban sold during its first year."Potter sales record". Reuters/PRNewswire. 11 July 2000. Accessed 25 October 2007. In the US, the book sold three million copies in its first 48 hours, smashing all literary sales records. Rowling admitted that she had had a moment of crisis while writing the novel; "Halfway through writing Four, I realised there was a serious fault with the plot ... I've had some of my blackest moments with this book ... One chapter I rewrote 13 times, though no-one who has read it can spot which one or know the pain it caused me."Johnstone, Anne. The hype surrounding the fourth Harry Potter book belies the fact that Joanne Rowling had some of her blackest moments writing it – and that the pressure was self-imposed; a kind of magic. The Herald. 8 July 2000. Accessed 25 October 2007. Rowling was named author of the year in the 2000 British Book Awards. Accessed: 24 November 2007 A wait of three years occurred between the release of Goblet of Fire and the fifth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This gap led to press speculation that Rowling had developed writer's block, speculations she fervently denied.Rowling denies wroter's block. BBC News. 8 August 2001. Accessed 25 October 2007. Rowling later admitted that writing the book was a chore. "I think Phoenix could have been shorter", she told Lev Grossman, "I knew that, and I ran out of time and energy toward the end."Grossman, Lev. "J.K. Rowling Hogwarts And All,". TIME Magazine. 17 July 2005. Accessed 25 October 2007. The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released on 16 July 2005. It too broke all sales records, selling nine million copies in its first 24 hours of release.New Potter book topples U.S. sales records. MSNBC. 18 July 2005. Accessed 25 October 2007. While writing, she told a fan online, "Book six has been planned for years, but before I started writing seriously I spend two months re-visiting the plan and making absolutely sure I knew what I was doing."JK Rowling's World Book Day Chat. 4 March 2004. BBC. Accessed 25 October 2007. She noted on her website that the opening chapter of book six, which features a conversation between the Minister of Magic and the British Prime Minister, had been intended as the first chapter first for Philosopher's Stone, then Chamber of Secrets then Prisoner of Azkaban.The Opening Chapter of Book Six J. K. Rowling's Official Site. Accessed 25 October 2007. In 2006, Half-Blood Prince received the Book of the Year prize at the British Book Awards. Accessed 24 November 2007. The title of the seventh and final Harry Potter book was revealed 21 December 2006 to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.Press Release. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Bloomsbury. 21 December 2006. Accessed 7 July 2007. In February 2007 it was reported that Rowling wrote on a bust in her hotel room at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh that she had finished the seventh book in that room on 11 January 2007.Cornwell, Tim.Finish or bust – JK Rowling's unlikely message in an Edinburgh hotel room. The Scotsman. 3 February 2007. Accessed 7 February 2007. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on 21 July 2007 (0:00 BST) and broke its predecessor's record as the fastest-selling book of all time. It sold 11 million copies in the first day of release in the United Kingdom and United States. She has said that the last chapter of the book was written "in something like 1990", as part of her earliest work on the entire series. 27 June 2006. Accessed 25 July 2007. During a year period when Rowling was completing the last book, she allowed herself to be filmed for a documentary which aired in Britain on ITV on 30 December 2007. It was entitled J K Rowling... A Year In The Life and showed her returning to her old Edinburgh tenement flat where she lived, and completed the first Harry Potter book.Hastings, Chris. Tears as JK Rowling returns to where it began. The Daily Telegraph. 24 December 2007. Accessed 24 December 2007. Re-visiting the flat for the first time reduced her to tears, saying it was "really where I turned my life around completely." Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated £7 billion ($15 billion),Harry Potter, the $15 billion man. Advertising Age. Accessed 7 November 2007 and the last four Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history.Harry Potter finale sales hit 11 m. BBC News. 23 July 2007. Accessed on 27 July 2007.Pauli, Michelle. "June date for Harry Potter 5". The Guardian; "Potter 'is fastest-selling book ever". BBC News. Accessed 4 August 2007. The series, totalling 4,195 pages,Sawyer, Jenny. Missing from 'Harry Potter' – a real moral struggle. The Christian Science Monitor. 25 July 2007. Accessed 27 July 2007. has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages. 29 June 2007. Accessed 29 June 2007. The Harry Potter books have also gained recognition for sparking an interest in reading among the young at a time when children were thought to be abandoning books for computers and television,New Study Finds That the Harry Potter Series Has a Positive Impact on Kids' Reading and Their School Work. Scholastic. 25 July 2006. Accessed 10 February 2007. although the series' overall impact on children's reading habits has been questioned.Mehegan, David. 9 July 2007. Accessed 1 April 2008. ''Harry Potter'' films In October 1998, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the first two novels for a seven-figure sum.Walker, Andrew. "Harry Potter is off to Hollywood – writer a Millionairess,". The Scotsman. 9 October 1998. Accessed 25 October 2007. A film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released on 16 November 2001, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on 15 November 2002.Harry Potter release dates. Box Office Mojo. Accessed 25 October 2007. Both were directed by Chris Columbus. 4 June 2004 saw the release of the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was directed by another new director, Mike Newell, and released on 18 November 2005. The film of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released on 11 July 2007. David Yates directed, and Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay, having taken over the position from Steve Kloves. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released on 15 July 2009. 19 September 2007. Accessed 19 September 2007. David Yates directed again, and Kloves returned to screenwrite it.Fienberg, Daniel. Screenwriter will sit out one 'Potter'. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 16 November 2004. Accessed 30 March 2007; Spelling, Ian. Yates Confirmed For Potter VI. Sci Fi Wire. 3 May 2007. In March 2008, Warner Bros. announced that the final instalment of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, would be filmed in two segments, with part one released in November 2010 and part two released in May 2011. Yates would again return to direct both films. Warner Bros took considerable notice of Rowling's desires and thoughts when drafting her contract. One of her principal stipulations was the films be shot in Britain with an all-British cast, which has been adhered to strictly.Treneman, Ann. J.K. Rowling, the interview. The Times. 30 June 2000. Accessed 26 July 2006. In an unprecedented move, Rowling also demanded that Coca-Cola, the victor in the race to tie in their products to the film series, donate $18 million to the American charity Reading is Fundamental, as well as a number of community charity programs.Coke backs Harry Potter literacy drive. BBC News. 9 October 2001. Accessed 26 July 2006. The first four films were scripted by Steve Kloves; Rowling assisted him in the writing process, ensuring that his scripts did not contradict future books in the series. She has said that she told him more about the later books than anybody else (prior to their release), but not everything.Mzimba, Lizo, moderator. "Interview with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling". BBC Newsround. February 2003. Accessed 21 March 2006. She has also said that she told Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) certain secrets about their characters before they were revealed in the books."J.K. Rowling: 'Fans will be happy'". CBBC Newsround. 2 November 2001. Accessed 21 March 2006. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) asked her if Harry died at any point in the series; Rowling answered him by saying, "You have a death scene", thereby not explicitly answering the question.J.K. Rowling on 'Today' part 2: what Daniel Radcliffe knew, the final line (with video). Times Herald-Record. 27 July 2007. Accessed 21 August 2007. Steven Spielberg was approached to direct the first film, but dropped out. The press has repeatedly claimed that Rowling played a role in his departure, but Rowling stated that she has no say in who directs the films and would not have vetoed Spielberg if she had.Rowling denies vetoing Spielberg. J. K. Rowling's official site. Accessed 3 April 2006. Rowling's first choice for the director had been Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, as she is a fan of his work. Warner Bros. wanted a more family friendly film, and eventually they settled on Chris Columbus.Wizard News: Terry Gilliam Bitter About "Potter". Wizard News. 29 August 2005. Accessed 20 October 2007. After Harry Potter Rowling has stated that she plans to continue writing.J.K. Rowling and Stephen Fry interview. Radio 4. 10 December 2005. Accessed 21 March 2006 In an interview with Stephen Fry in 2005, Rowling claimed that she would much prefer to write any subsequent books under a pseudonym; however, she conceded to Jeremy Paxman in 2003 that if she did, the press would probably "find out in seconds." Accessed 20 May 2008. * Accessed 20 May 2008. In 2006, Rowling revealed that she had finished writing a few short stories and another children's book (a "political fairy story") about a monster, aimed at a younger audience than Harry Potter readers."J.K. Rowling on Finishing Harry Potter". in.rediff.com. 11 January 2006. Accessed 19 March 2006. She is not planning to write an eighth Harry Potter book, and has stated, "I can't say I'll never write another book about that world just because I think, what do I know, in ten years' time I might want to return to it but I think it's unlikely."[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/0706-bbc-ross.html Transcript of J. K. Rowling interview on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross]. 6 July 2007. Accessed 20 October 2007. However, Rowling has said she will be writing an encyclopedia of Harry Potter's wizarding world consisting of various unpublished material and notes.Brown, Jen. Stop your sobbing! More Potter to come. MSNBC. 24 July 2007. Accessed 25 July 2007. Any profits from such a book would be given to charity.No eighth book. J. K. Rowling official site. Accessed 10 April 2006. During a news conference at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre in 2007, Rowling, when asked how the encyclopedia was coming along, said, "It's not coming along, and I haven't started writing it. I never said it was the next thing I'd do." 16 October 2007. Accessed 30 October 2007. As of the end of 2007, Rowling has said that the encyclopaedia could take up to ten years to complete, stating "There is no point in doing it unless it is amazing. The last thing I want to do is to rush something out". In July 2007, Rowling said that she wants to dedicate "lots" of her time to her family, but is currently "sort of writing two things", one for children and the other for adults.Memmott, Carol. A fond look back at Harry. USA Today. 25 July 2007. Accessed 26 July 2007. She did not give any details about the two projects but did state that she was excited because the two book situation reminded her of writing the Philosopher's Stone, explaining how she was then writing two books until Harry took over.JK's writing two books but she won't be rushing. The Scotsman. 27 July 2007. Accessed 25 October 2007. She stated in October 2007 that her future work was unlikely to be in the fantasy genre, explaining, "I think probably I've done my fantasy ... it would be incredibly difficult to go out and create another world that didn't in some way overlap with Harry's or maybe borrow a little too much from Harry."Topel, Fred. Accessed 30 October 2007. In November 2007, Rowling said that she was working on another book, a "half-finished book for children that I think will probably be the next thing I publish." 1 November 2007. Accessed 2 November 2007 In March 2008, Rowling confirmed that her "political fairy tale" for children was nearing completion. 10 March 2008. Accessed 18 March 2008. In March 2008, Rowling revealed in interview that she had returned to writing in Edinburgh cafés, intent on composing a new novel for children. "I will continue writing for children because that's what I enjoy," she told The Daily Telegraph. "I am very good at finding a suitable café; I blend into the crowd and, of course, I don't sit in the middle of the bar staring all around me." 2 March 2008. Accessed 3 March 2008. Life after Harry Potter Forbes has named Rowling as the first person to become a U.S.-dollar billionaire by writing books,Watson, Julie and Kellner, Tomas. "J.K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire". Forbes.com. 26 February 2004. Accessed 19 March 2006. the second-richest female entertainer and the 1,062nd richest person in the world.#1062 Joanne (JK) Rowling. Forbes.com. Accessed 16 March 2008; Oprah is Richest Female Entertainer. Contact Music. Accessed 20 January 2007. When first listed as a billionaire by Forbes in 2004, Rowling disputed the calculations and said she had plenty of money, but was not a billionaire.J.K. Rowling, the author with the magic touch. MSN. Accessed 9 August 2007. In addition, the 2008 Sunday Times Rich List named Rowling the 144th richest person in Britain. In 2001, Rowling purchased a luxurious nineteenth-century estate house, Killiechassie House, on the banks of the River Tay, near Aberfeldy, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.Nichols, Michelle. Hogwarts hideaway for Potter author. The Scotsman. 22 November 2001. Accessed 25 October 2007. Rowling also owns a home in Merchiston, Edinburgh, and a £4.5 million ($9 million) Georgian house in Kensington, West London,Boshoff, Alison. What does JK Rowling do with her money. Daily Mail. 24 August 2006. Accessed 20 October 2007. on a street with 24-hour security.Collinson, Patrick. "Rub shoulders with Brucie for £4.3m, or Tony for £7,250". Guardian Unlimited. 26 April 2005. Accessed 29 October 2007. On 26 December 2001, Rowling married Neil Michael Murray (born 30 June 1971), an anaesthetist, in a private ceremony at her Aberfeldy home.Christmas wedding for Rowling. BBC News. 30 December 2001. Accessed 25 October 2007. This was a second marriage for both Rowling and Murray, as Murray had previously been married to Dr. Fiona Duncan in 1996. Murray and Duncan separated in 1999 and divorced in the summer of 2001. Rowling and Murray's son, David Gordon Rowling Murray, was born on 24 March 2003. 24 March 2003. Accessed 25 May 2007 Shortly after Rowling began writing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince she took a break from working on the novel to care for him in his early infancy.J.K. Rowling's Official Site, "Progress on Book Six". 15 March 2004. Accessed 22 March 2006. Rowling's youngest child, daughter Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray, to whom she dedicated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was born 23 January 2005.J.K. Rowling's Official Site, "JKR gives Birth to Baby Girl". Accessed 25 January 2005. Rowling is a member of the Church of Scotland. She once said, "I believe in God, not magic."Nelson, Michael. Fantasia: The Gospel According to C.S. Lewis. The American Prospect. 25 February 2002. Accessed 20 October 2007. Early on she felt that if readers knew of her Christian beliefs, they would be able to "guess what is coming in the books." 26 October 2000. Accessed 29 October 2007. Rowling has stated that she struggles with her own beliefs. In an interview with the Today Show in July 2007, she said, "... until we reached Book Seven, views of what happens after death and so on ... would give away a lot of what was coming. So ... yes, my belief and my struggling with religious belief and so on I think is quite apparent in this book."Viera, Meredith."Harry Potter: The final chapter". MSNBC. Accessed 30 July 2007. Rowling commented on her political views when she discussed the 2008 United States presidential election with the Spanish-language newspaper El País. She said she is obsessed with the United States elections because they will have a profound effect on the rest of the world. In February 2008, she said that both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would be "extraordinary" in the White House. In the same interview, she also said her hero was Robert F. Kennedy. Rowling has received honorary degrees from St Andrews University, the University of Edinburgh, Napier University, the University of Exeter and the University of Aberdeen. Accessed 6 June 2008. Accessed 6 June 2008. On 5 June 2008, Rowling spoke at the Harvard University commencement ceremony where she received another honorary degree. Accessed 6 June 2008. In 2009 Rowling was awarded the Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. She revealed publicly, during the Elysée Palace ceremony, that her maternal grandfather was French and had also received the Légion d'honneur for his bravery at the First World War battle of Verdun. Matt Latimer, a former speech writer for President George W. Bush has claimed in his book Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor that Rowling was turned down for the Presidential Medal of Freedom because White House officials in the Bush administration believed that the Harry Potter series promoted witchcraft. Relationship with the press Rowling has had a difficult relationship with the press. She admits to being "thin-skinned" and dislikes the fickle nature of reporting. "They went in one day from saying, 'She’s got writer’s block' to saying, 'She's been self-indulgent'", she told The Times in 2003, "And I thought, well, what a difference 24 hours makes." However, Rowling disputes her reputation as a recluse who hates to be interviewed.Treneman, Ann. "I'm not writing for the money: It's for me and out of loyalty to fans.". The Times. 20 June 2003. Accessed 25 October 2007. In 2001, the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint by Rowling over a series of unauthorised photographs of her with her daughter on the beach in Mauritius published in OK! Magazine.{Press Complaints Commission: JK Rowling. pcc.org.uk. 2001. Accessed 8 December 2007. In 2007, Rowling's young son, David, assisted by Rowling and her husband, lost a court fight to ban publication of a photograph of him. The photo, taken by a photographer using a long-range lens, was subsequently published in a Sunday Express article featuring Rowling's family life and motherhood. However, the judgment was overturned in David's favour in May 2008.Rozenberg, Joshua. JK Rowling's son wins privacy battle in court. The Daily Telegraph. 2008. Accessed 8 May 2008. Rowling has said she particularly dislikes the British tabloid The Daily Mail, which made references to a stalker Rowling insists does not exist, and conducted interviews with her estranged ex-husband. As one journalist noted, "Harry's Uncle Vernon is a grotesque philistine of violent tendencies and remarkably little brain. It is not difficult to guess which newspaper Rowling gives him to read [in Goblet of Fire]."Lockerbie, Catherine. 11 July 2000. Accessed 30 October 2007. Some have speculated that Rowling's fraught relationship with the press was the inspiration behind the character Rita Skeeter. However, Rowling noted in 2000 that the character actually predates her rise to fame: "People have asked me whether Rita Skeeter was invented [to reflect Harry Potter's popularity], but in fact she was always planned." 16 October 2000. Accessed 30 October 2007. "I tried to put Rita in Philosopher's Stone – you know when Harry walks into the Leaky Cauldron for the first time and everyone says, "Mr. Potter you're back!", I wanted to put a journalist in there. She wasn't called Rita then but she was a woman. And then I thought, as I looked at the plot overall, I thought, that's not really where she fits best, she fits best in Four when Harry's supposed to come to terms with his fame."Transcript of interview with J.K. Rowling. BBC Newsround. 2000. Accessed 25 October 2007. Philanthropy In 2000, Rowling established the Volant Charitable Trust, which uses its annual budget of £5.1 million to combat poverty and social inequality. The fund also gives to organisations that aid children, one parent families, and multiple sclerosis research. Accessed 19 January 2008. Rowling said, "I think you have a moral responsibility when you've been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently." Anti-poverty Rowling, once a single parent herself, is now president of the charity One Parent Families, having already become their first Ambassador in 2000. . Accessed 11 July 2007.J K Rowling becomes President of One Parent Families. oneparentfamilies.org. 16 November 2004. Accessed 20 October 2007. Rowling collaborated with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, to write a book of children's stories to aid One Parent Families.Gordon's Women. Guardian Unlimited. 13 May 2007. Accessed 20 October 2007. In 2001, the UK anti-poverty fundraiser Comic Relief asked three bestselling British authors – cookery writer and TV presenter Delia Smith, Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding, and Rowling – to submit booklets related to their most famous works for publication.Goodson, Rory and Chittenden, Maurice. "Rowling casts a spell that will give charities millions". The Sunday Times. 7 January 2001. Accessed 25 October 2007. Rowling's two booklets, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, are ostensibly facsimiles of books found in the Hogwarts library. Since going on sale in March 2001, the books have raised £15.7 million ($30 million) for the fund. The £10.8 million ($20 million) they have raised outside the UK have been channeled into a newly created International Fund for Children and Young People in Crisis.The Money. Comic Relief. Accessed 25 October 2007. In 2005, Rowling and MEP Emma Nicholson founded the Children's High Level Group. Accessed 1 November 2007. In January 2006, Rowling went to Bucharest to highlight the use of caged beds in children's mental institutions.Launch of the Children's High Level Group. J.K. Rowling's Official Site. Accessed 20 October 2007. To further support the CHLG, Rowling auctioned one of seven handwritten and illustrated copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a series of fairy tales referred to in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book was purchased for £1.95 million by on-line bookseller Amazon.com on 13 December 2007, becoming the most expensive modern book ever sold at auction. Rare JK Rowling book fetches £2m. BBC News. 13 December 2007. Accessed 13 December 2007.Amazon purchase book. Amazon.co.uk. Accessed 14 December 2007. Rowling commented, "This will mean so much to children in desperate need of help. It means Christmas has come early to me."Majendie, Paul. Rowling says goodbye to Potter with fairy tales. Reuters. 1 November 2007. Accessed 1 November 2007. Rowling gave away the remaining six copies to those who have a close connection with the Harry Potter books. In 2008, Rowling agreed to publish the book with the proceeds going to the Children's High Level Group. Political donation In September 2008, on the eve of the Labour Party Conference, Rowling announced that she had donated £1 million to the Labour Party, saying in a statement: "I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour Party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative Party. Gordon Brown has consistently prioritised and introduced measures that will save as many children as possible from a life lacking in opportunity or choice. The Labour government has reversed the long-term trend in child poverty, and is one of the leading EU countries in combating child poverty. David Cameron's promise of tax perks for the married, on the other hand, is reminiscent of the Conservative government I experienced as a lone parent. It sends the message that the Conservatives still believe a childless, dual-income, but married couple is more deserving of a financial pat on the head than those struggling, as I once was, to keep their families afloat in difficult times." Multiple sclerosis Rowling has contributed money and support for research and treatment of multiple sclerosis, from which her mother died in 1990. In 2006, Rowling contributed a substantial sum toward the creation of a new Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University. For reasons unknown, Scotland, Rowling's country of adoption, has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in the world.MS Society, Scotland JK Rowling funds new MS centre. Edinburgh Research and Innovation, University of Edinburgh. 21 April 2006. Accessed 10 June 2006. In 2003, Rowling took part in a campaign to establish a national standard of care for MS sufferers. In April 2009, she announced that she was withdrawing her support for Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland, citing her inability to resolve an ongoing feud between the organisation's northern and southern branches that had sapped morale and led to several resignations. Other philanthropic work In May 2008, bookseller Waterstones asked Rowling and 12 other writers (Sebastian Faulks, Doris Lessing, Lisa Appignanesi, Margaret Atwood, Lauren Child, Richard Ford, Neil Gaiman, Nick Hornby, Michael Rosen, Axel Scheffler, Tom Stoppard and Irvine Welsh) to compose a short piece of their own choosing on a single A5 card, which would then be sold at auction in aid of the charities Dyslexia Action and English PEN. Rowling's contribution was an 800-word Harry Potter prequel that concerns Harry's father, James Potter and godfather, Sirius Black, and takes place three years before Harry was born. Accessed 31 May 2008. Accessed 31 May 2008. Rowling claims that she does not intend to return to Harry Potter for at least ten years. Accessed 29 May 2008. Accessed 29 May 2008. The cards were collected together and sold for charity in book form in August 2008. On 1 August and 2 August 2006 she read alongside Stephen King and John Irving at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Profits from the event were donated to the Haven Foundation, a charity that aids artists and performers left uninsurable and unable to work, and the medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières.Harry, Carrie, Garp. Scholastic. 2006. Accessed 25 October 2007. In May 2007, Rowling gave $495,000 to a reward fund of over $4.5 million for the safe return of a young British girl, Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in Portugal.Potter Author Adds to U.K. Reward Fund. Fox News. 13 May 2007. Accessed 14 May 2007.Madeleine father sure she is safe. BBC News. 14 May 2007. Accessed 14 May 2007. Rowling, along with Nelson Mandela, Al Gore, and Alan Greenspan, wrote an introduction to a collection of Gordon Brown's speeches, the proceeds of which are donated to the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory.Brown publishes greatest speeches. BBC News. 5 April 2006. Accessed 20 October 2007. Legal disputes Rowling, her publishers, and Time Warner, the owner of the rights to the Harry Potter films, have taken numerous legal actions to protect their copyright. The worldwide popularity of the Harry Potter series has led to the appearance of a number of locally produced, unauthorised sequels and other derivative works, sparking efforts to ban or contain them."Rowling seeks 'Grotter' ban". BBC News, 13 March 2003. Accessed 21 March 2006." While these legal proceedings have countered a number of cases of outright piracy, other attempts have targeted not-for-profit endeavours and have been criticised as a result as too draconian. Another area of legal dispute involves a series of injunctions obtained by Rowling and her publishers to prohibit anyone from reading her books before their official release date. These injunctions have very sweeping powers and have drawn fire from civil liberties and free speech campaigners and sparked debates over the "right to read". The powers afforded by these injunctions have even been used in subsequent cases unrelated to publishing. Publications ''Harry Potter'' series # Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (26 June 1997) # Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2 July 1998) # Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July 1999) # Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8 July 2000) # Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June 2003) # Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July 2005) # Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (21 July 2007) Other books * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (supplement to the Harry Potter series) (2001) * Quidditch Through the Ages (supplement to the Harry Potter series) (2001) * The Tales of Beedle the Bard (supplement to the Harry Potter series) (2008) Articles * "The First It Girl: J.K. Rowling reviews Decca: the Letters of Jessica Mitford ed by Peter Y Sussman", The Daily Telegraph 26 July 2006 * Introduction to "Ending Child Poverty" in Moving Britain Forward. Selected Speeches 1997–2006 by Gordon Brown, Bloomsbury (2006) * Foreword to the anthology Magic, edited by Gil McNeil and Sarah Brown, Bloomsbury (2002) * The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination, J.K. Rowling, Harvard Magazine, 5 June 2008 * Foreword to "Harry, A History", written by Melissa Anelli, Pocket (2008) * Gordon Brown – The 2009 Time 100 J.K Rowling, Time Magazine, 30 April 2009 See also *Religious debates over the Harry Potter series *Politics of Harry Potter *Harry Potter influences and analogues References External links *Official Website *J.K. Rowling Fan Site *The first It Girl: Rowling's article on Jessica Mitford for The Telegraph *[http://www.bloomsbury.com/magic/ Rowling's foreword to the anthology Magic] *Video, audio and transcript of Rowling's speech at Harvard University's 2008 commencement.